Texas-based Kirby Corp has entered into an agreement to acquire K-Sea Transportation Partners, an operator of tank barges and tugboats participating in the coastwise transportation primarily of refined petroleum products in the US.
Total value of the transaction is approximately $600m, consisting of $335m for K-Sea’s equity and the refinancing of $265m of K-Sea debt.
The transaction is expected to be closed by July this year.
The K-Sea fleet is comprised of 58 tank barges with a capacity of 3.8 million barrels and 63 tugboats, and operates along the East Coast, West Coast and Gulf Coast of the US, as well as in Alaska and Hawaii.
Kirby CEO Joe Pyne said that K-Sea will be a terrific complement to Kirby’s existing inland tank barge transportation service.
Kirby operates inland tank barges and towing vessels, transporting petrochemicals, black oil products, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals throughout the US inland waterway system.